A comprehensive collection of U of M news clips including select U of M news from local, national and global sources, as well as News Service releases and multimedia content. It is delivered via e-mail every morning, Monday-Friday. Subscribe here.
Today's News: Thursday, January 26, 2012
Featured News
UMN video: Why a public research university is important
Here’s a video that University of Minnesota spokesman Jeff Falk says the U’s government relations team is sharing with legislators this session — just to drive their point home, I suppose.
Minnesota Public Radio On Campus
To watch: http://oncampus.mpr.org/2012/01/umn-video-why-a-public-research-university-is-important/
Broadcast News
How the Healthcare Reform Act will actually affect your care
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel was a special adviser to the White House on healthcare policy during the most heated national debate over healthcare reform… Dr. Emanuel will present the Dienard Memorial Lecture on Law and Medicine at 11:30 am at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey center.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/01/25/midmorning1
Expect Headaches if Vikings Play at TCF Bank Stadium
If a new Vikings stadium is built on the Metrodome site and the Vikings have to play at TCF Bank stadium, it may not be a perfect fit. The University of Minnesota says there are substantial hurdles that must be overcome before the Vikings can play at TCF.
KSTP-TV
To watch: http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2468881.shtml
Ask Dr. Hallberg: Healthy living and memory retention
As millions of baby boomers approach retirement age, medical researchers are exploring how the brain ages and the links between healthy living and memory retention… Dr. Jon Hallberg is assistant professor in family medicine at the University of Minnesota, and medical director at Mill City Clinic.
Minnesota Public Radio
To listen: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/01/25/hallberg-memory-retention/
Anonymous Donor Chain Used in Recent Kidney Transplants
An anonymous donor chain recently provided three kidney transplants between Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was the first time the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital was involved in a kidney transplant chain.
KSTP-TV
To watch: http://kstp.com/article/stories/S2468879.shtml
Pioneer Press
To read: http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_19818140
U Faculty, Staff or Students in the News
Scientist Plays Down Danger of Flu Strain
A Wisconsin virology team that created a more contagious form of bird flu did not produce a highly lethal superflu, as a Dutch team famously and controversially did last year, according to the leader of the Wisconsin team‚ Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and a member of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, said the panel still wanted the details of Dr. Kawaoka's work censored as it did Dr. Fouchier.
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/health/wisconsin-scienti
st-says-h5n1-flu-strain-he-created-is-less-dangerous.html
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/national/ci_19821486
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/story/2012-01-25/bird-flu-human/52794524/1
Scientific American
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=caution-urged-for-mutant-h5n1
U of M President Kaler to Visit with Area Leaders in Hutchinson
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler will be visiting with community and education leaders in Hutchinson tomorrow.
KSTP
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2467738.shtml
USDA: Milder winters mean some changes in plant hardiness zones
It's still too cold for Japanese maples and flowering dogwoods, but warmer winters have shifted the Twin Cities into a new plant-hardiness zone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday… University of Minnesota Extension climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley said he wasn't surprised by the shifts.
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_19822524
Confident Obama struts his stuff
A relaxed, confident Barack Obama hit a pitch-perfect high note last week at the famed Apollo Theater in New York… “The election has effectively begun, so to some extent [Obama’s] goals have changed,” said Christopher Federico, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota.
Hill
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/206669-confident-obama-struts-his-stuff
The Growing Alternative To English-Only Education
Republicans vying for the GOP presidential nomination are debating and disagreeing about the economy and foreign policy, but they backed each other on one issue this week: the English language… "What we hear is no dual language, English only," said Tara Fortune, immersion project coordinator at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University Sacramento KCRA
http://www.kcra.com/r/30299068/detail.html
CNN
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/25/the-growing-alternative-to-english-only-education/
Stylepoints: School of cool
We went to the mall at the University of Minnesota to find out how coeds stay warm and chic when trekking across campus... Paula Dassbach studies mathematics.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/138064783.html
Words from the Wise
A study by a group of forest scientists confirms forest-derived bioenergy results in no net carbon release… When asked whether U.S. forests are being sustainably managed, study co-author Jim Bowyer of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering says yes and no.
Biomass Magazine
http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/6122/words-from-the-wise/
How do you police cars that drive themselves?
Self-driving vehicles are currently being tested in California, raising questions among academics and officials… "It’s a 21st-century Fourth Amendment seizure issue," Frank Douma, a research fellow at the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota said.
Police News
http://www.policeone.com/vehicle-incidents/articles/4
975174-How-do-you-police-cars-that-drive-themselves/
Hearing against Basson may be dropped
The Health Professions Council of South Africa will on Friday decide if it will proceed with its hearing into allegations of unprofessional and unethical conduct levelled against germ warfare expert Dr Wouter Basson… Their argument hinges on discounting evidence given by ethics expert Professor Steven Miles -- a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.
Mail and Guardian
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-01-26-hearing-against-basson-may-be-dropped/
Articles of Interest - Metro and State
Higher-ed chief plans to build relations
It looks like it might be a quiet legislative session for higher education… The new leaders of the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system talk "more about outputs than inputs," Pogemiller said.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/138082918.html
Confucius Institute at the University of Minnesota named 'Institute of the Year'
The Confucius Institute at the University of Minnesota has been named "Institute of the Year" and was honored at a ceremony in Beijing, China.
KSTP
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2467819.shtml
Former Obama Health Care Adviser to Speak at U of M Wednesday
This morning a former health care adviser to President Obama will be speaking at the University of Minnesota about the future and cost of American medicine.
KSTP
http://universityofmn.kstp.com/news/health/124351
-former-obama-health-care-adviser-speak-u-m-wednesday
U of M team continues to study foam on manure pits
A University of Minnesota team is on their second round of funding to find ways to mitigate, and ultimately prevent, dangerous foaming in hog manure pits. Larry Jacobson, an Extension engineer, gave an update on the project Jan. 18 at Minnesota Pork Congress, held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Agri News
http://www.agrinews.com/u/of/m/team/continues/to/study/foam/on/manure/pits/story-4276.html
Columns, Commentary, Opinions and Blogs
Readability formulas and Obama’s speech, Gingrich’s PhD
Folks at the University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics blog ran President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address through a “readability formula” and reported that it scored as having been written at an 8.4 grade level.
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/can-u-read-
this-stick-to-words-not-formulas/2012/01/25/gIQAjM8YRQ_blog.html
Gawker
http://gawker.com/5879356/obamas-state-of-the-union-hits-the-eighth-grade-reading-level
How valuable is water?
Turns out we don't know. But the federal government thinks we should. Now, Steve Polasky, a University of Minnesota expert on economics and the environment is heading a new scientific advisory panel for the Environmental Protection Agency charged with establishing the economic value of clean water.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/138054763.html
Congressman's view: Environmentally sound mining vital to Minnesota’s economy
I like to say Minnesota is three things: timber, taconite, and tourism… A University of Minnesota Duluth study estimates more than 500 more ancillary jobs will be created in St. Louis County alone, generating an economic benefit of about $242 million, including products and services.
Duluth News Tribune
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/221018/group/Opinion/
Optimal basketball shooting rate proposed based on mathematical model
NBA players may be too conservative with their shots, according to a comparison with a theoretical model describing shot selection reported Jan. 25 in the online journal PLoS ONE. The author, Brian Skinner of the University of Minnesota, aimed to create a model that could take into account multiple factors to determine when it was worth taking a shot.
Science Codex
http://www.sciencecodex.com/read/optimal_basketball_sh
ooting_rate_proposed_based_on_mathematical_model-84905
Massachusetts Health Reform: How It Fared In 2010
Massachusetts’s health reform bill, which provided the template for the federal Affordable Care Act, went into effect in 2006… The survey is reported in a Health Affairs Web First article, by Sharon Long of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and coauthors, released yesterday.
Health Affairs Blog
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2012/01/26/massachusetts-health-reform-how-it-fared-in-2010/
Life discovered on dead hydrothermal vents
Scientists at USC have uncovered evidence that even when hydrothermal sea vents go dormant and their blistering warmth turns to frigid cold, life goes on… The findings were published in mBio in an article authored by Edwards, USC graduate researcher Jason Sylvan, and Brandy Toner of the University of Minnesota.
Space Daily
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Life_discovered_on_dead_hydrothermal_vents_999.html
Current News Releases and Multimedia
Biologically best
http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2011/UR_CONTENT_366507.html
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